FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Monday, November 17, 2003

Prepared Response Closes First Preferred Round of Venture Capital Financing with Benaroya Capital

SEATTLE — Nov. 17, 2003 — Prepared Response Inc., today announced the completion of its initial round of venture capital funding led by Benaroya Capital, a Seattle-based venture capital firm. The Series A preferred financing totals $1.2 million, led by Benaroya with additional contributions from angel investors. John T. Carleton, senior vice president of Benaroya Capital, has also taken a seat on Prepared Response’s board of directors. The company is profitable, cash flow positive and has a significant sales pipeline.

Since its incorporation in September 2000, Prepared Response has secured a total of $2.5 million in angel and venture capital financing. The new financing will be used to continue sales and marketing of the company’s flagship product, Rapid Responder, which gives emergency personnel immediate access to critical facility information and planning tools that are crucial to their ability to quickly contain and mitigate life- and property-threatening incidents.

“Prepared Response and Rapid Responder represent a turning point in the way first responders and facility managers will prepare for and respond to emergencies. Moreover, Rapid Responder is a classic example of how a powerful technology can dramatically improve and replace conventional emergency planning systems,” said Carleton. “Prior to Rapid Responder, companies and organizations had inefficient and unreliable methods for responding to a variety of emergency scenarios. With Rapid Responder, those organizations can begin the process of improving their emergency preparedness immediately, with a solution that allows them to involve and draw from existing resources. The promise of all technology is speed and reliability, and Rapid Responder has irrevocably changed the way police, fire, and emergency medical personnel can address large scale emergencies.”

“It’s a clear indication of the strength of our product offering that we’ve been able to attract such a powerful investment team member,” said Jim Finnell, chief executive officer of Prepared Response, Inc. “Beyond the investment, securing Benaroya as a financing partner provides us with access to top-level management expertise and input.  Benaroya has extensive experience and I know they will bring a lot of value as we continue deploying to schools and public facilities.  We then look to have Benaroya assist us in accessing commercial office properties and corporations.”

Rapid Responder is an interactive emergency response content distribution system. It gives first responders and facility stakeholders immediate access to critical facility and venue specific content including floor plans, site plans, both indoor and outdoor photos, as well as hazardous material and utilities control locations in each facility. It also allows first responders to effectively prepare through pre-planning, actual response and mitigation, providing the means to effect the highest level of organization and dissemination of incident plans, site information and communication. For example, a site commander and emergency communications managers can easily view critical site information en route to an emergency, access building safety plans specific to the crisis, create and manage an incident plan, and communicate in real-time with other crews through a secure internet connection.

“Rapid Responder was recently used extensively during a large scale emergency at a high school in Spokane, Washington where public safety responders and school management quickly and effectively mitigated a shooting incident using the system and services we provided them.  Rapid Responder has now been proven in a large-scale and potentially horrifying incident, and we expect that it’s efficient use there and around the state of Washington will serve as an example for other schools and facilities around the country,” added Finnell.  In addition to schools, Prepared Response is working on implementing its technology and services in a variety of venues including commercial office, industry, military, and homeland security.

Jim Finnell, the Company’s CEO, is a seasoned senior executive with over 20 years of experience in public and private companies and in a broad range of industries including technology, emergency services, and operations.  Jim has also fulfilled a number of positions in the public safety industry with American Medical Response, Inc., ranging from Vice President of Operations to Divisional Financial Officer. In addition to his leadership roles with AMR, he worked in emergency services as a licensed field paramedic for over ten years.

About Benaroya Capital

The Benaroya Companies are among the region's leading private venture capital firms.  They enter into active relationships with the companies they fund — promising businesses that demonstrate strong management, bold vision, great market potential, and strong financial discipline.